Interview with John Perich, author of 'Too Late to Run' #mystery #thriller #authorinterviews

While working in a variety of Boston-area tech
startups, John Perich has still found time to write and publish several gritty
crime thrillers, particularly the Mara Cunningham series (Too Close To Miss
in 2011; Too Hard to Handle in 2012).

Too Late to Run is the third book in a series of gritty mystery novels starring Boston photojournalist Mara
Cunningham. This time, Mara reluctantly aids a crooked real estate developer
from her past who's been detained on trumped-up charges. But each clue she
uncovers turns up more enemies - backwoods militias, corrupt bankers, and a
mysterious pyromaniac - and raises doubts as to her friend's innocence.

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Q: Welcome
to The Writer's Life!Now that your book
has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.Can we begin by having you take us at the
beginning?Where did you come up with
the idea to write your book?

This all started with Too Close to Miss, the first Mara Cunningham crime thriller, in
2010. I wanted to explore a story that started from an unusual premise: a woman
investigating the death of the wife and son of the married man she was sleeping
with. Once I had that premise, the character of Mara grew organically: the kind
of person who’s impulsive enough to sleep with a married man, but has enough
integrity to want to see justice done. Playing with those contradictory drives
brought Mara to life.

When Too
Close to Miss was done, I felt like Mara had enough depth to explore her
story further. Too Hard to Handle
followed in 2011. Too Late to Run,
the third book, just released in November, revisits some of the characters we
first met in Too Close to Miss. Mara
reluctantly helps a contact of hers who has extensive criminal ties. In doing
so, she uncovers a significant local conspiracy and crosses paths with all
manner of violent threats.

Q: How
hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could
pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

The hard part of writing is always putting in the
time and sticking to it. For me, that means getting up early, often when it’s
still dark out, and writing every weekday morning.

For other writers struggling with that commitment
to a regular writing schedule: giving yourself permission to have a bad day is
key. There will be mornings, or evenings, when you produce half the word count
you thought you would, or when you fear that the words you’re producing are
garbage, or when you know that they’re garbage. Keep going! Your first draft is
not your final draft, and your final draft will not succeed or fail on the
strength of one sterling paragraph.

Q: Who
is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

I’ve self-published all three of my novels. I never
tried querying any of the Mara Cunningham novels or soliciting representation.
I was confident that they’d hold their own in a dense and competitive market,
and I didn’t think the value that professional representation would add would
match the trade-off in revenue or creative control. That may change with other
novels.

Q: Is
there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

Any time a stranger tells me they loved my book and
can’t wait for the next one is a genuine surprise. Readers, let your favorite
writers know if you like them! Very few of us are so stuffy as to be bored by
praise.

Q:
What other books (if any) are you working on and when will they be published?

I have two more crime thrillers set in New England in varying
stages of completion. One is notably darker in tone than the Mara Cunningham
series; the other, significantly lighter, though still violent and gritty. I
don’t have enough to assign a name or date to either of them, unfortunately.

Q:
What’s your favorite place to hang out online?

Twitter and Facebook eat up more of my time than
they should.

Q:
Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to get across with your book?

“Mara Cunningham lives an exciting life, and I’d
gladly pay to read more about it.”

Q: Thank
you again for this interview!Do you
have any final words?

Thanks for having me! I’d encourage readers who
want to see quality self-published authors survive and thrive to use reviews
and word of mouth to help get their names out there.